2007-04-21: Too Many Heroes

Starring:

Bekah_icon.gif Cass_icon.gif Claudine_icon.gif Jane_icon.gif Karoliina_icon.gif Marilou_icon.gif Namir_icon.gif Orion_icon.gif Zac_icon.gif

Summary:

It's a beautiful Spring day until a cyclone/waterspout is made, Claudine and Orion's suspicions are confirmed about young Marilou, and too many heroes try to save one boy.

April 21st, 2007:

Too Many Heroes


Battery Park, NYC

The day is a beautiful one. Spring has really sprung, and it's the most obvious in the parts of the Big Apple where nature is allowed to flourish out of its citified confines. One such place is Battery Park, where the sun shines down on the waterfront, flowers are starting to blossom where they've been planted, and sailboats have ventured into the New York Harbor. The hint of a chill in the air is a tiny one - and who cares, when shadows have been abolished by the sun? People are taking every opportunity to relish the day, because in about an hour, the sun will set.

Strolling along the waterfront are two Filipino teenagers, having just gotten off the ferry. Marilou wanted to see the Statue of Liberty! Claudine's baby sister, who is barely younger than the elder Salonga sibling and juuust stepped off the plane last night, is mid-sentence. "…smaller than I pictured…" She's clad in white capris, tanktop with a cute little pink jacket. Her dark, glossy hair is shorter than Claudine's, pixie-like, though not quite /that/ short. She's cute as a button. "Anyway, like I was saying a minute ago. It's really freaking me out, 'Dine."

Hrmmm. Well, Claudine isnt the only one with the baby of the Salonga Clan. Orion's there too, though, the elder Salonga asked that he leave the two girls to chit chat. As such, Claudine sighs and pats her sister gently on the shoulders, trying to reassure her, while chewing on her bottom lip. "Maybe you're just tired and imagining these things? I mean, it's just a coincidence, right?" she says, hoping that it just is, and that the youngest doesnt have powers at all.

She then looks around for Orion, motioning him on over as it seems that their little girl chat is over for now. Hopefully Marilou trusts the older man, as Claudine has done her best to make sure that her younger sister feels comfortable around him anyway. «Dont tell anyone else about what's happening to you, okay?» she says firmly in Tagalog.

Bekah is out for a run in the park. The nice spring day has lured her out, or added a bonus of sunshine to her run. She's moving along to the rhythm of the music playing on her iPod, dressed in athletic clothes complete with a good pair of running shoes. She's been at it for a bit, judging by the speed of her breathing.

Zac is himself out for a stroll on the waterfront. Hands stuffed into his trenchcoat and sporting yet another geeky t-shirt (this one with a picture of Hellboy on it!). He looks a bit tired, stressed, and slgihtly worn around the edges. He isn't particularly staring at where he's going as his gaze is following his feet as he strolls slowly through Battery Park.

Beautiful day, out and about on the town like someone on vacation, and in the company of two teenage Filipinas. Can life get any better for Orion Granger? Well, yes, technically it could. He could have declined that ferry hotdog. If he hadn't eaten it, he probably wouldn't look so green around the gils just this moment.

A few moments after Claudine motions him over, Orion moves slowly away from the railing at the edge of the ferry and over toward the Sisters Salonga. He arches an eyebrow and offers a genial, if sickly subdued smile. For a moment, just a moment, the tall man seems to have stolen the job of Hendrickson's actor as Lurch.

No longer clad in lawyer gear, and a bit tipsy from the party they had after the contract signing at Cutting Room, Jane's decided to stake out new territory in playing impromptu public gigs. She walks along in a dark pair of jeans, vintage Annie Lennox t-shirt, and no jacket. Too warm for that today. And yes, as is customary for her, she's got the guitar case and backpack over opposite shoulders. She's headed toward the landing where ferries leave and dock, there should be plenty of tourists to throw coins and cash into the open case. Once there she starts to set up.

It would be such a shame to waste such a lovely spring day. Which is exactly how Cass sees it. Since she was out running errands earlier in the day, it seemed natural for her to simply walk the rest of the way to Enlightenment to stop in and see how things are doing. Deciding to take the slow way around, she does a circuit of Battery Park and then somehow gets roped into taking a picture of a family of tourists in front of the Statue of Liberty. Loud, southern accents and hawaiian print shirts in the spring? Oh well. Cass can't really judge. Smiling, she takes the camera from the slightly overweight father and then backs up. "Okay! Squish together! I'll try to get Good Ole Liberty on the left, that okay?"

Matched up with the Phantom to her Christine, Karoliina and the male lead are both enjoying a stroll through the park, offering lyric to lyric from a selection of Andrew Llyod Weber's famous musicals - Including 'Memory' from Cats, and for him, she's trying to get him to sing 'High Flying Adored' from Evita. Their loud, but thanks to the musicality, they aren't getting too many glances as she trek next along the runner's path.

Not far behind Claudine and her group in stepping off the ferry is Namir, but as he's on his cellphone, it's little wonder that he hasn't noticed who is ahead of him — or really anywhere around him, for that matter. The man is speaking in fluent Arabic in a low voice, and he neither looks nor sounds very pleased at all. In his meandering, he doesn't notice that he's paused just off where Jane has begun to set up — it's more a coincidence than any real desire to hear the musician. Because of the excellent day, he's dressed in a dark blue Polo shirt and black slacks — casual civilian /public/ clothes. Being suspended, he has not brought along his off-duty firearm.

Marilou gives Claudine a little smile, her dark eyes glittering as she tries to be soothed by big sis. "I don't know. Coincidences are one thing but, like… maaan…" She gives her head a shake, silky hair swish-swish-swishing around her face. "«No way! Anyone else would think I'm crazy. You probably do too, but at least you already /knew/ that!»" she jokes Tagalog with a laugh. Her small shoulders rise and slump; she looks over at Orion, hugging herself a bit nervously all of a sudden. After watching the tourists get their picture taken for a bit, the sixteen year old speaks up again. "«I gotta tell you something you yesterday when the plane kept getting delayed? I was so scared! I think it was my fault.»"

Claudine beams brightly as Orion heads on over and she hooks her other arm with his own, giving it a comforting squeeze. He doesnt look too good right now, considering he ate the hotdog and all. "Awww, you okay?" she asks curiously while sighing a bit before looking over to her younger sister. Great, now she has to take care of two people, but oh well, it's okay cause she's in full maternal mode.

She's listening to Marilou go on as she lets out an impish giggle though her eyes widen in the end. «You think it was your fault?!?» and that's when she gets a look similar to Orion's as now she looks a bit queasy. «How can it be your fault?» she asks. Hopefully, it was cause she flirted with the pilot or something, not cause she has powers of some sort. That would just be complicated.

Granger smiles to Marilou, head tilted very slightly to one side as she seems… Nervous about his presence. Orion looks to Claudine curiously, arching an eyebrow with an unspoken question along the lines of 'What did I do?' The tall man blinks as Claudine herself pales at something. His head immediately starts swiveling as he gently squeezes her arm with his own. Apparently Orion thinks she saw someone or something dangerous.

Bekah turns to look at the singers as she runs near them with a shake of her head. Crazy people. She can hear them even over whatever music she's got playing. The path ends near the ferry and as she gets close, Namir's familiar face is spotted. She starts his way, aiming her path to meet where she thinks he'll end up.

Zac continues to walk in his head down, watching the ground as his feet carry him foward. It's very likely he will bump into someone quite by accident, perhaps someone just stepping off the ferry?

Her pack and guitar case are set down near a bench, and the case is opened. Out comes her favorite Fender Strat and the portable amp. Jane plugs in and runs over the strings a bit to make sure things are still in tune, then ponders what to play first. She looks out over the harbor, spots the Statue of Liberty, and makes her decision. Moments later she's launching into the full length instrumental version of Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix style. In keeping with that, she refrains from singing the lyrics.

"Alright guys!" Cass keeps backing up until her heels hit the wall that keeps the grass off the path. "Ack!" Naturally surprising, the woman holds both her hands out keep on her feet. Wobble, wooble…but she manages to not fall over and after a moment, she regains her balance again. Phew. It would be quite bad to fall over and break a strangers camera. "Okay! And one more time!" Refocusing thing through viewfinder, she moves one way and another and then starts the countdown. "3. 2. 1. Cheese!" Snap!

Crazy? Karoliina and the actors at the Majesty? You have it in one, Bekah even as the pair matches verse for verse even as they make their way past Marilou, Claudine, and Orion. Karoliina finally stops to start laughing, leaning down to hold her knees while her partner looks around, his hazel eyes twinkling in amusement. Then Jane starts singing, and they exchange a glance, and move over to hear the show, both tapping their feet to the rhythm. Alas, performers. Each of a kind, there.

A rather sullen looking teenager with pale blonde hair skulks about Battery Park. Everything looks too damn pretty. Clad in a teal tanktop, skinny jeans, a letter jacket from some local high school and a very new pair of high heels, Mallory's eyes widen slightly when she spots Claudine and her little sister. She would run into… co-workers while trying to avoid thinking about the place, wouldn't she?

The conversation in Arabic continues up until Jane starts to play on her guitar and portable amp. This seems to snap Namir out of his conversation and makes him take notice of where he is, and he offers a polite smile to the performer before moving off a few steps to make it easier for him to hear himself and the person on the other end of the line. As soon as he's out of range, he picks up the conversation again, heated as it might seem. When Bekah approaches, he manages to catch sight of her just as she's drawing near, and he mutters a few more things into the phone before closing it, tucking it into his pocket with a solemn frown. "Bekah," he greets flatly, if not politely. "Out for a run?" Obviously.

Marilou flirted with the guy who kept serving her coffee on the plane, but that's to tell later - and besides, that definitely didn't cause the plane to delay. She flinches a little when her sister gets all /worried/. "«Insane, I know! I know. But like, /'Dine/… those things that happened to me before? I could feel it. It was happening again! And then we'd conveniently run into turbulence. The clouds were so pretty, it was sunny!»" The girl is getting worked up, clinging to her sister and tugging on the edge of her own jacket anxiously. "«I mean, I was thinking, if I'm going to come all this way it would really suck if I was the reason we all crashed into the ocean before we ever even got to Honolulu! Then… it happened after Hawaii too but…»" Wait. Her train of thought got derailed there somewhere. "«I don't really know what being airsick feels like, but it was the same, like, when it happens a lot and I can't control it, but that was the thing, Claudine! I had to hang on because if I didn't— it— the plane kept rocking and—»"

A gust of wind sweeps up from the ground - unusual, since it's such a nice day, and the air was still just a moment ago - and rushes past the family of tourists Cass was playing photographer to. Their little boy's 'I <3 NEW YORK' baseball cap is blown off his head, and immediately, he starts running after it toward the waterfront, quick on his feet (and probably hyperactive on tourist treats), trying to catch it before disaster strikes.

Disaster strikes, all right, but the hat is the least of the kid's worries. The boy, who must be about six years old, is propelled from behind by the mystery wind - and his little body is shoved straight toward the Harbor.

Claudine is listening as she chews on her bottom lip. The feelings, the emotions, what her sister is feeling. She knows exactly what it means as she felt the same way, albeit it differently considering her own connection is to the earth. As Marilou continues, she hops up and kisses Orion on the cheek, while whispering something softly, along the lines of "You were right about her.." She looks back to her sister and shakes her head. «Okay, then I think I know what's going on, and we're going to help you, okay?»

And she's about to explain about Primatech and the Company, when all of a sudden shit hits the fan. The strong gust catches her by surprise and her eyes widen in terror as it sweeps a little boy into the Harbor. "Oh God!" she cries out while clutching on tightly to her sister. «Concentrate on the boy..do NOT let him fall into the water..» she tries to urge her sister. Maybe there's some sort of control with that instinct?

Zac accidentally bumps into someone just coming off the ferry. The bump is just jostling enough to send him sprawling. Such poor balance sends the man into Claudine by accident, he starts to excuse himself but his attention is stolen by the sudden wind. "Whoa!" he says, pointing. "Hey kid, look out!" he stretches an arm out as if that somehow will help.

Bekah looks over to Namir as he states the obvious. "Nah, just thought I'd go out for a relaxing stroll." She jokes with her dry sarcasm. She reaches to her iPod to run the music down. That lets her catch Zac's comment and she turns to look. "Oh Hell." She says, not running off there yet. She's watching though, to see if she needs to.

For those of you unaware, New York Harbor is only marginally cleaner than the Hudson River. Or the East River for that matter. In short, falling into it is a little bit better than falling into an overfilled cesspool. This, by coincidence, does not make Orion terribly happy as he whirls toward the motion of a small child getting launched off of the ground and toward the water.

Granger's overcoat flaps in both the wind getting kicked up and from his own motion. The tall man shrugs the coat off, leaving it hanging from Claudine's hand as he starts sprinting toward the edge of the ferry area. He's surprisingly quick, but not quick enough he's afraid. Orion leaps off the side, diving after the kid.

'This water's going to be cold, isn't it?' occurs to him somewhere between launching off the side of the land and the eventual plunge into the water below.

The gust of wind isn't so close as to affect her directly, but the aftermath disrupts her playing. Fingers go still as she watches the boy first get blown off the pier, then the man jumping in to retrieve him. Holy crap, Jane thinks, as she watches with what seems to be helplessness. It's then she spots Cass near the developing disaster. She sets down the guitar by pulling it over her head, and thinks to detach the straps first from her case, then the instrument itself, and begin to try linking them together as she moves quickly toward the rescue zone.

"Here you go!" Cass grins and holds the camera out to the father she took it from when the gust of wind blows around. Unusual, sure, but New York is no stranger to unusual weather. "Hope it turns out alright. Want me to take another one just to be sure?" The wind catches their little kid's hat and Cass follows along behind to help pick it up. Right on his heels, Cass yelps when he goes straight into the harbor. "Oh God! HEY!" Immediately, she's running out to grab a hold on him to try and pull him back to safe land. That, unfortunately, does not work quite as well as she would like. Though she makes a valiant effort at trying to snatch the boy out of mid-air, this is not a action rescue adventure and more like a cheap comedy. The bookstore owner misses him /completely/ and is so overbalanced that she goes flailing into the water almost simultaneously as Orion with a yelp of surprise. Smooth, Cass.

Poor, poor POOR Karoliina. As much as the Majesty is going to kill her if she gets a cold, the shawl gets dropped in her partners arms and she races in to dive after Cass- except, alas, she turns out as clumsy as the other woman and then promptly falls in headfirst after Cass and Orion. And the one thing Karoliina does as she's falling: "THIS IS NOT THE LITTLE MERMAID MUSICAL!" Ker-SPLASH. And Karoliina and Cass are no mermaids.

It's the typical scenario that every rescue worker dreads: well-meaning civilians stepping in to help, only to need rescuing themselves. The moment Namir spots the boy going over the edge, he goes rigid and is stripping his pockets of any valuables before he even thinks about what he's doing. Orion goes over not long after, and Namir's dropped his cellphone, notepad, pencil, wallet, and keys on the ground at his feet. In that split second, it occurs to him that he might not /have/ to go over — but no. There goes Cass, and there goes Karoliina, neither of which look at /all/ like they went in with any sort of competency. Without hesitation, the Muslim dives in after the two women.

"«I-I— what do you mean, how can you help me? What's wrong with me? I— watch out!»" Marilou's frantic Tagalog cuts short when she tries to warn Claudine of her imminent collision with the dude in the Hellboy shirt, but catching sight of the little boy at the water's edge - and over the water's edge in a matter of seconds - she shrieks in surprise. That was her fault! Wasn't it? She wavers on her feet, clutching Claudine's arm tightly and trying to steel herself. She looks like a kitten trying to be tough, really - it doesn't work, but it's obvious that she's trying to focus.

The gust of wind seems to have stopped - or at the very least, drifted off across the water. Indeed, the glistening waters become choppy for several feet past the pier. There's nothing stopping the child from falling in. Frantic splashing starts right away - so does frantic crying out for his mom and dad! They're rushing to the edge frantically, the dad kneeling down and reaching his arm down. "Thomas! Thomas!" shouts the father. "He's still in swimming lessons!" The boy, in his attempts to swim up, latches onto Cass underneath the surface, and unknowingly kicks at Karoliina.

Just kidding! That gust of wind? It didn't stop. No, it kept going, its force too strong to dissipate right away. An idyllic sailboat minding its own business out in the Harbor starts to sway worryingly.

Crappity crap crap. First her younger sister has powers, and now her boyfriend jumped into the gross nasty New York City water to save the kid. Then more people jump after him. «Why must everyone be an attention whoring hero?» Claudine says with a shake of her head while rubbing her temples for a few moments, while taking deep breathes to try to keep her own cool. She has to remain strong for her younger sister afterall. As such, she tugs onto her sister's arm towards the edge of the ferry looking out towards all the people who jumped in.

Then, to make matters worse? The winds dont stop, and she chews on her bottom lip as she just stares at her younger sister, taking her hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. «'Lou, you have to calm down. This isnt your fault, it was an accident. But to make sure that nothing else happens you /have/ to not freak out. Think of happy thoughts, like that boy you had a crush on back in the sixth grade. Or when we totally broke Alvin up with his mean girlfriend who was mean to us.» Yes, she's bullshitting here, but happy thoughts generally help with her own elemental based powers, so she's hoping it'll work for her sister.

Hoping that her sister will actually listen to her, she looks back out over the water, looking for those who jumped in. She's concerned for the young boy and Orion, as well, she doesnt know the other would be heroes. She's gotta be pragmatic here afterall. «Lou..you have to calm down..» she says, hoping to make sure that point hits home.

And oh yeah, Claudine stumbles a bit and hits the rails as she did collide with the dude in the hellboy shirt. Ack!

Bekah starts towards the water, but then Namir's emptying everything out of his pockets. He's had enough trouble lately without someone stealing his wallet, so for the moment she stays there, guarding his stuff and giving a nasty look to someone who edges closer. As if she could really do anything. Mostly her attention is on the water, watching to see if Namir and Orion need help. Ready to jump into action if say, CPR becomes necessary.

Zac looks around while people are trying to help the kid, and people are trying to help the people who are helping the kid. "Okay, everyone..the most important thing here is to just remain calm. We aren't going to help anyone by running around with our hands in the air screaming "oh wailey wailey wialey!" he says, in a soothing voice. He himself is calm, but concerned. What he doesn't realize is that feeling of calm and concerned he has is spreading to others..perhaps not sinking in so quick, but somewhat effectively chilling people out.

Orion disappears into the water with almost no splash. He resurfaces a few moments and a few feet away from where Cass and Tommy are struggling. The tall man swims quickly over to Cass and Thomas, reaching out to wrap one arm around Cass' waist while the other one rummages around underwater to try pulling the kid to the surface.

Granger sucks in a deep breath and, for the moment, treads water while he reorients himself within the water. The cold, cold water. At the moment, this is alright. Granger has strength to spare for this operation, but the next part of his plan might be hindered by there being /TWO/ bodies to drag out of the water.

Coming up to the pier at a decent clip while linking straps together, Jane's thinking fast. Make rope, throw rope into water, pull people out as quick as possible. Is she strong enough? Is the makeshift rope long enough? Unknown. So she needs help. Her voice sounds out, clear and carrying. First: Address the boy's father with the camera. "Take that strap off and give it to me. Now!" Then she throws the end of it out to the water, toward the nearest struggling person, and braces herself. "Everybody, join in! Anchor me!" Because she really doesn't want to get pulled in herself.

It's not exactly like Cass planned to go swimming today or to try and catch a falling boy. It just sort of happened that way. She can't just /not/ help. It goes against her very nature. However, she's in a bit of a pickle. Though the day was nice and warm, the water is decidedly not and the minute she hits it, it's a shock which takes her a moment to start kicking. Before she can even think of heading back up to the surface, all of the sudden there's a kid attached to her. Not about to let him drown, she tries to keep him from kicking her by grabbing a hold. And while she's normally a fine swimmer on her own, the added weight of a struggling kid isn't exactly helping. She's kicking, kicking, kicking but going nowhere! In fact, she's slowly sinking. Urk! No good! Luckily for both Cass and Thomas, they're pulled surface-ward by Orion not too long after they both went under. As soon as her head is above the water, she takes a deep, grateful breath of air. "Thank you," she gasps.

Alas, Karoliina, although not a graceful diver, once she's in the water, she's really good actually, being able to twist away from the striking foot in the water as she struggles to rise to the surface. Christine does not die by drowning here folks! She dies of old age! Karoliina would like to go that way too as she moves underneath the water. Her friend is up helping tug with Jane, as it is.

As Karoliina seems to be doing good on her own, Namir heads for the source of what seems to be the main issue. Orion has two bodies, and nobody wants to deal with two bodies whilst in the water. As Namir strokes over to the gathering of people, he hones in immediately on Thomas and lightly takes hold of the boy around the waist — but he won't let go of Cass. /Hfff/. "Come on, son," he murmurs in a low, soothing voice. "It's all right. I've got you." Then, spotting a rope of some sort in the water, he glances up at the people above. Oh, assistance! "Get that rope over here," he calls. "Let's get the boy onto the rope." This last is added to Orion, and Namir makes a quick sweep of the surrounding waters, keeping an eye out for Karoliina to ensure she's doing well and not in need of aid.

Marilou is one overwhelmed little sixteen year old. To make matters worse, her sister's boyfriend just jumped into the water. "Wh-what" she stumbles along after Claudine, but when she gets to the edge, she flops down onto her rear end and draws her knees up, her ankles crossed. "Okay, I'll try, 'Dine. I it's so strong! What if that little kid— " Happy thoughts, silly thoughts… oh, hell. She starts to cry.

The boy gasps as his leverage on Cass allows him to clamber up long enough to break the surface - only for one, splashing, chaotic second before falls under again. He just holds onto the woman's shirt, grasping, frantic, not aware that he's making both of them sink. Thankfully, it's Orion to the rescue, although Thomas is just as floundering as ever when the man grabs him. Cass is his rock. If they reach air, he's torn between crying and breathing (he has something in common with Claudine's sister that way), but he takes comfort in Namir, who now becomes his replacement rock.

His father does exactly what Jane says, hurriedly lifting the camera off from around his neck, undoing the strap and giving it to the woman, helping to tie it if he can.

With sails filling with wind that nowhere else seems to experience, the sailboat tilts, its mast like a clock's hand at nine o'clock, eight o'clock… back up to twelve. Thank goodness, right? Its captain is thankful, and trying awfully hard to get to the pier — but he's about to get some unintended help from Marilou, who's losing it in all the drama around her. Another gust of wind picks up again, ruffling everyone's hair on dry land, making the less-than-pristine waters choppy and arduous, and sending the boat careening into the side of the docked ferry.

What is it with people doing things in a nonsensical fashion? Claudine rolls her eyes a little as she looks around the boat for things that would normally be used in this situation, you know, things like a lifevest or perhaps one of those donut shaped life preservers. Fortunately, since she was pushed near the ledge, she grabs one of the donut shaped life preservers, that has actual rope and attempts to throw it out towards Orion, Cass, and the young boy to make things a little easier for the trio. "Orion! Catch!" she cries out while tossing out the life preserver towards them. Hopefully it makes it.

"Na tataranta na ako! Pero, bad example ako.." she says in an exasperated fashion while raising her arms into the air while shaking her head and closing her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Punyeta! Ang dameng gago dito!!" she tells her sister, just venting some frustration at the moment.

It's then that she realizes that her sister is crying, and she clings on tightly to her baby sister, giving her a squeezy hug. She feels bad that she's now feeling bad, and the ferry moving up and down is giving her a bit of seasickness, but she holds it all back. She has to be strong and a better example for her sister. "Please..calm down.." she whispers, just hoping to wake up from this seemingly bad dream.

Zac looks around, unknowingly still sending out his own feelings to others. It's relief, more than anything. "It looks like they got him!" he calls out, smiling. He keeps looking around, still wondering if he can do something to help aside from motivational speaking.

Bekah isn't going to be a whole lot of help in keeping Jane on dry land, so she leaves that to any big buff men in the growing crowd. This is entertainment, you know. She reaches down to grab Namir's things before the breeze ruffling her hair can blow anything away, and takes a few steps towards the edge. "Oh, good. Looks like no one's dieing." She mutters under her breath, hopefully soft enough the kid's parents don't hear it.

In spite of the clearly prolific roll of bad luck surrounding the day's events, Orion manages to evade having his girlfriend club him in the head with a life preserver. Instead it falls just shy of him. Granger reaches out for the preserver and fails, utterly, to grab it before the waves chop it away from his reach.

This leaves Orion with only one course of action. Continue treading water. He does this with gusto aplomb, staying afloat quite easily in spite of a waterlogged Cass, demi-connected Thomas, and, by extension, Namir. If this keeps up, he might take flight from treading water so hardcore.

With no one having grabbed the makeshift rope yet, strength of anchors isn't an issue, and the thing is longer by the added camera strap. Jane scrambles to pull it back in and throw it again toward the nearest person, hoping to get it into better reach this time, so people can get pulled out. While doing so, her eyes dart around. More anchors would be good, and there's Zac. "You!" she shouts. "Get over here and help pull!" Then, in another direction, she spots Claudine on the ferry and calls out to her. "Hey! That ferry's got to have a crew! Get them. Now!"

While Orion may have problem grabbing a hold of the preserver due to holding on to her, Cass has less of a problem. Orion is basically carrying her in the water and she can use that extra reach to make a successful grab. Once she's got a hold on it, she gratefully pulls it over so that the two can share it, starting to shiver in the cold water. Pushing her wet hair off of her face, she detaches herself from Orion so that he can stop treading water and starts to cling to the floating donut. "Well." Now that she's got something stable to hold onto and she's not in danger of drowning, she can quip. "Nice day for as swim." Yes, that's sarcasm.

Zac is startled into action, "umm sure!" he says, helpfully and comes to help pull. Not afraid of using his muscles, just didn't think he'd be of much help. But he pulls with the others anyway. The act of physical labor means his brain isn't sending out emotions for others to feel now, thankfully. He strains and pulls.

The second throw from Jane hits true, and while Cass and Orion cling to their life preserver, he snatches the makeshift lifeline and allows himself a brief rest in supporting himself on that rope for just a brief instant. Phew. He is soon treading water and tying the line around Thomas' waist with one arm, allowing the boy to cling to him to make the job that much easier. "There we are — Thomas, right?" That's the name that was being shouted from above. "You're tied on good and tight now, Thomas. Now just hold onto the rope here— " he holds out the line for the lad to grasp "— and they will pull you up, all right? You're a brave boy." Then, he glances up toward the people at the other end of the 'rope'. "Pull him up!"

The second throw from Jane hits true, and while Cass and Orion cling to their life preserver, Namir snatches the makeshift lifeline and allows himself a brief rest in supporting himself on that rope for just a brief instant. Phew. He is soon treading water and tying the line around Thomas' waist with one arm, allowing the boy to cling to him to make the job that much easier. "There we are — Thomas, right?" That's the name that was being shouted from above. "You're tied on good and tight now, Thomas. Now just hold onto the rope here— " he holds out the line for the lad to grasp "— and they will pull you up, all right? You're a brave boy." Then, he glances up toward the people at the other end of the 'rope'. "Pull him up!"

Claudine's yelling, even if it wasn't /about/ her was /directed/ at her, and that doesn't help Marilou's dilemma much at all. Neither does the sailboat thumping into the nearby ferry. But the hug seems to, as her gasping breaths slowly start to even out. "I'm okay, 'Dine. That was— that just like on the plane. See?! It's not a coincidence!" She gets to her feet, giving a little 'hmph' to herself. "E-everyone's totally gonna be okay, right? Did anyone… like… drown?" Blink-blink. Her fear and guilt are sincere!

The remainder of the wind swirls about the now much closer sailboat, sending the contents of the deck - not including its passengers, at least - up in a miniature cyclone, only to lose momentum in mid-air and drop harmlessly into the water, though the captain of the sailboat narrowly avoids a spool of rope that falls back to his deck. The crew of the ferry are already quite mobilized - one member is en route to Jane while the others are helping the man and woman on the sailboat.

Thomas grabs onto the lifeline when Namir tells him to, clinging tightly, in fact, nodding through splutters. He can see his parents up there. The combined efforts of the people on dry land easily haul him up, and soon, he's in the arms of his family - coughing a bit, shivering, but fine.

Jane's cry is lost on deaf ears, as it seems Claudine is only concerned for two people right now, and one of them is in a squeezy hug already. Sorry Thomas, but you're lower on her rank of priorities. "It's okay..just calm down.." she whispers softly while running her fingers through her little sister's hair while looking out over the water to check on Orion, Cass and the boy.

Phew. The boy is taken care off, so things seem fine in that regard. So really, her biggest concern now is the miniature cyclone. "Lou..please..just calm down. I'm here for you. And I always will, but you have to calm down.." she says once more, hoping that a calm sister means that the cyclone will go away.

Bekah moves a bit closer to the boy as he's pulled ashore. She's looking him over from head to toe, but not intruding on the family hugging going on. He seems fine, so her attention turns back to the water, and Namir out there. She steps towards the edge to call out to him. "Have a nice swim?" Yes, there's a teasing tone in that.

Orion, now free of the burden of Cass & Co. hooks one arm through the life preserver that Cass has so helpfully provided. When he goes to try swimming the two of them back toward the shore, following after the ill-fated Tommy, Granger fails.

How? He turns face first into a wave and sucks down a mighty gulp of villainous New York Harbor water. There is a good deal of gagging and sputtering, along with some flailing before he manages to regain an actual grasp on the life preserver. Orion promptly leans over and wedges his head into the inside of the preserver and proceeds to vomit.

Suffice it to say, Orion has had prouder moments and better days.

Being busy now, with Thomas finally on the rope, Jane pulls along with the folks helping out until he's safely on shore. Once that's done, she takes a measure of the others still in the water, clinging onto the donut, and Karoliina too. She scrambles to pull it back in and throw it out again, once more her aim is toward the closest of those remaining so they can get pulled to safety. Again and again this is her intent, as many times as are neccessary, until all hands are ashore or someone more qualified takes over.

Zac helps out as much as he can, pulling the rope or offering comforting words because that's about all else he does.

It's cold and just because she's got something to hold onto doesn't make it easier for Cass to start swimming back to the harbor. She's kicking and pulling, but they're not really getting anywhere. Mostly because the two of them are weighing their inflatable down and Orion is having a attack of sickness. Cass is certainly not strong enough to pull the both of them on her own. "Are you okay?" Smarter questions have been asked. But, she's cold and drifting in a dirty river with random debris from the ferry falling around her.

It would appear that, though Orion is sick (ew), the two are secure and on their way to rescue. Namir's work is done, and it's more important for him to get out of the water now than it is to stay and get in the way. He makes a break for the shore and hauls himself up onto it with what strength he has left. After a few moments of remaining on his hands and knees, catching his breath, he hauls himself onto his feet and glances down at himself. He's wet, he's cold — and there's a few chunks of half-digested hot dog stuck to his shirt. Guh. He begins to wring out his shirt as he moves back toward the crowd. "Wonderful swim," he grumbles at Bekah wryly. "Does anyone have any blankets?"

The cyclone is gone. In fact, aside from lingering lopping waves, there's no obvious CLIMATIC INDICATION that anything was ever amiss here today in Battery Park. The ferry-workers haul Cass and Orion toward them to eventual safety and blankets - some of which has already been ferried (pun intended) down to those who have made it to safety already. Cass and Orion might also get free hotdogs. Aren't you excited, Granger?

"E-everyone's okay, right? Everyone's gonna be okay?" Marilou winces and looks away as Orion turns a funny colour and does what he does. Gross. On her feet now and hovering close to Claudine, she looks very much like she wants to jet out of here. If what just happened is any indication, it's probably best to get this kid to safety before her anxiety stirs things up any more.

Claudine definitely wants to jet as well, though the only thing holding her back is Orion. She's got to make sure he's okay afterall. Though when he throws up, she makes a similar face to her sister, Claudine still tugs Marilou along to make sure the taller and older gentleman is all right. "Are you okay?" she asks with a bit of concern, but then she remembers evertything that happened, and her concern for her beau is put aside for now, as there are more pressing matters. "We gotta go..now.." she says firmly and resolutely, as she motions towards the parking lot. He still has the keys and hoepfully they werent lost in the water.

Fortunately, on the way over towards the group, she got his coat and hands it to him, while chewing on her bottom lip. She smiles warmly and bows her head at Cass before she starts to head off with Marilou. Hopefully someone else can do spindoctoring and damage control, lest the Haitian is going to have a field day with this one.

Bekah smirks over to Namir. "You might try a nice heated pool next time." She continues to joke before she offers out his things. "I don't have a blanket, but I've got your stuff. I figured that your life has sucked enough lately without some thief walking away with your cell and stuff."
Once everyone is safely ashore and being tended to, Jane stands up and begins to disattach her two straps from the makeshift rope, then leaves the camera strap with the boy's father. "Thanks, guys, for anchoring me." She then goes to quietly pack up her guitar and amp, if they've not been stolen in the bustle of crisis, and leave as quietly as she can, without drawing more attention on herself or even waiting to be thanked.

Granger, once pulled from the water, shudders a bit but shoulders his way from the men aboard the ferry and makes his way toward Claudine and Marilou. The tall man grabs his overcoat and wraps it around himself grateful that he had the presence of mind to pull that off before hand.

"I agree. Time to go."

Orion, shivering and dripping while wrapped up in his overcoat, leads the way back off of the ferry toward the streets.

Shivering and dripping, Cass sees that the boy got out alright, everyone is okay and dispersing. Well. She has nowhere to go at the moment, so she'll just stay on the ferry for a couple of rides, enjoy her free hot dogs and get warm and dry. For all the time she's lived in New York, she still hasn't actually done the typical Staten Island Ferry ride. She'll make up for lost time.

"Oh no, not for me. I'm going home and taking the longest shower that my hot water heater will allow." Namir accepts his things from Bekah and takes a blanket from someone who was generous enough to pass them down from the ferry. After ensuring that the boy is really safe and all right in the arms of his parents, the Muslim deems it best to just slip quietly away and toward home. After this? He deserves it.

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